Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. A proposal has been made to restore the one person one vote principle without having to change the Constitution which involves an interstate compact. Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. To become president of the United States of America, you must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. Their vote only counts at the local level, not the national level, because of the electoral votes. The official general election results indicate that Trump received 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825 votes), and Hillary Clinton received 227 Electoral College votes and 48.18% of the popular vote (65,853,516 votes). Find the most comprehensive and complete 50-state information in NCSL's searchable bill tracking databases. Certain penalties exist in other states. NCSL helps draft bills, organize workshops and convene legislative-executive teams. Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. . The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. The Compact ensures that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2023. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. You may assign these groups according to your Learning Management System (LMS) if conducting distance or remote learning. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 Electoral College. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. Fifteen states and DC have already enacted it into law, for a total of 196 electoral votes. As of now, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Delaware and Oregon. By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. popular vote pros and cons-shootings in south dallasshootings in south dallas Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. "Pros and cons of the Electoral College it said this about what supporters think about the electoral college "Naturally . When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. Why does the system continue? NCSLs experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. Fair or not fair? How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, The Most Lopsided Presidential Elections in US History, Presidential Election of 1800 Ended in a Tie, The Election of 1824 Was Decided in the House of Representatives, How Presidents and Vice Presidents Are Elected, Election of 1800: Thomas Jefferson versus John Adams, Biography of Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States, What Is Dealignment? Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. Critics, however, argue that Founders reasoning is no longer relevant as todays voters are better-educated and have virtually unlimited access to information and to the candidates stances on the issues. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. One of the main critiques of the Electoral College is that because 48 states choose to allocate electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis (the College is established by the Constitution, but the . With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, Hear from two columnists with different political ideologies discuss the week in politics, Hear New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics. Today, electors meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December Dec. 14 this year to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, with the candidates who receive a majority of votes being elected. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. Individual states agree to pledge their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, provided that enough other states follow suit. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. States boyd, william j.d., "electoral college system challenged." national civic review 55.9 (1966): 519-23. The country thinks we are going to elect the president using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system tans and then four months before the election we change to the National Popular Vote Compact system and elect the president by whoever gets the most popular votes. The aim of the National Popular Vote is to ensure the popular vote dictates the Electoral College results, making "every vote in every state" count. Thus, the National Popular Vote plan will take effect when enacted by states controlling an additional 74 electoral votes. Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. The New York Times called the last two states on its map on Nov. 13: Georgias 16 electoral votes for Mr. Biden and North Carolinas 15 for Mr. Trump. NCSL Child Welfare Fellows program is designed to support legislators and legislative staff who are experienced or emerging leaders in child welfare policy. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. To be elected president, the winner must get at least half plus one or 270 electoral votes. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and California. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. cons of the national popular vote planproperty management without a license in texas aot 4, 2022 12:34 . The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. BREAKING NEWS: Announcing the 2022 NAPA Top DC Advisor Teams. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. While it has provided a stable and predictable framework for presidential elections, it has also produced several controversial outcomes. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. BY . Disadvantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win. Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. Consequently, they decided that using the proxy votes of the well-informed electors would lessen the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the minority are drowned out by those of the masses. All samples were added by students. Rescue crews are fighting rugged terrain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as search efforts for a missing man remain ongoing. I will explain that in another blog post. Analysis of the Congressional-District Method of Awarding Electoral Votes Summary Under the congressional-district method of awarding electoral votes, one electoral vote is awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in each of a state's congressional districts. However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. During a popular vote, a candidate who withdraws from the race or dies before the election can be held could still be on the ballot. SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. Going to the popular vote would eliminate this issue altogether. End with a class discussion. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. This hybrid system means that more weight is given to a single vote in a small state than the vote of someone in a large state, leading to outcomes at times that have been at odds with the popular vote. This new series from the AP is dedicated to answering commonly asked questions from our audience about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. 211 Next The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. 3. 4. National Popular Vote Fix the Broken Electoral College. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2023 NewsHour Production LLC. They have only won the popular vote once. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. Under the National Popular Vote plan,the compact would take effect only when enabling legislation has been enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral votes:270 of 538 total. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. 1. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. Removing this system could encourage more people to come out to support their candidate. ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409. It could help to reduce partisanship. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. lilj512. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that state's electoral votes. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. Security would be improved across the country. However, there are proposals to reform the Electoral College without abolishing it. But with the NPV Compact a change in party control of just one or two states could restore the old system of electing the president and then four years later it could be changed back. This outdated institution creates unnecessary . The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says CU Boulder political scientist Ken Bickers.
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